Small Business

There's a very nice, reasonably priced women's clothing store in Montrose called, appropriately, the Clothing Market. I have shopped there regularly since it opened a little over a year ago. I went again on Christmas Eve to take advantage of its 20% off sale, and thought briefly, “Oh my gosh! It's gone!” It took me a little while to realize that the store wasn't gone, only its bright banner with the store name was gone. I talked with the store owner and found that the city had made him take it down.

GLENDALE — A major solution for small businesses battling plunging revenues might start with the simple “green” step of turning computers off at night. That was one of the many suggestions put forth Tuesday at a small-business workshop held at the Glendale Hilton, where speakers emphasized the value of low-cost online marketing, savings from using new technology to cut down on printouts and opportunities to benefit from federal stimulus contracts. Revenue sources are shrinking, said Brian Burch, director of small-business marketing for Hewlett Packard, which cosponsored the event, so simple cost-cutting measures and efforts to position for stimulus-related bids could make a major difference for some companies.

Unemployed workers and small-business owners struggling to stay afloat will get an opportunity to learn about government and community resources available to them at a small-business and career fair Thursday. The event, sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Glendale Pacific Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave. It will include workshops conducted by various government agencies including the Small Business Administration and Office of Personnel Management.

Claudia Peschiutta BURBANK -- The opportunities the Internet offers to small business owners will be the focus of a free seminar on June 16 hosted by state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale). "How to Expand Your Small Business Using the Internet" will be presented by Kent J. Burnes at the breakfast meeting to be held from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at the The Castaway restaurant, 1250 Harvard Road in Burbank. The seminar will cover topics such as online marketing and securing credit card sales.

Karen S. Kim Small business workshop offered NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- A group of businesses will host a round-table workshop March 27 in Glendale called "Grow Your 'Small' Business." Participants are invited to sit one-on-one with business experts in an interactive learning session. Topics will include growing business and networking with other business owners. Sponsor ACX Barter will teach how to barter with down time or excess inventory, Bank of America representatives will discuss special financing programs available to fund small business expansion, S.B.D.

I am a registered Democrat, and lifelong resident of La Crescenta/Glendale, and supporter of James Rogan. I am a third-generation owner of a small business, and married into a family of yet another small family business, which resides in Glendale. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Will Rogers for displaying a complete lack of respect for the winner of the 27th Congressional race, Adam Schiff, by disrespecting Rogan and all of his hard work he has done for this district.

Along with family and administrators, Glendale Altrusans honored four accomplished eighth-grade students from Roosevelt, Rosemont, Toll and Wilson middle schools, for their exemplary community service. The are Melody Shahsavarani, Noemi Rodriguez, Amber Mateer and Janejila Snider. On hand to congratulate the students were School Board President, Joylene Wagner; member Mary Boger and Superintendant Richard Sheehan. In addition to a $200 cash award and plaque from Altrusa, each honoree received a certificate of merit from the offices of Assemblyman Mike Gatto, Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Sen. Carol Liu. The honorees had distinguished themselves with service projects that ranged from peer counseling to helping the homeless.

Councilman John Drayman is calling on his colleagues to create a task force to advise the city on the recruitment and retention of small business. Drayman is the only small businessman on the council, and also served as president for several years of the Montrose Shopping Park, the city?s first business improvement district. ?It?s an issue that keeps being raised by people I talk to,? he said. Drayman said the public perception is that the city is more interested in major businesses than in the small operations around Glendale.

"Holding these kinds of parties is important for our children, to remind them of their roots. Otherwise, they seem to forget." — Ruby Devera, on the importance of festivals such as the 109th Philippine Independence Day celebration Thursday night. "A good beginning would be for the IRS to give its front-line people a little more latitude for what constitutes substantiation. Let's make small business people stop paying for broken dishes." — Michael Velazquez , president of Velazquez & Associates Inc., on what the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Internal Revenue Service could do to help small-business owners.

Workshop offers small-business aid Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and a nonprofit will host a workshop Tuesday at the Glendale Hilton to help small-business owners through the recession. SCORE, a nonprofit aimed at helping small businesses find success, organized the event, which will encourage business owners to think outside the box to survive difficult economic challenges. The session, which will last from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will include strategies for “going green” to increase efficiency and save money, taking over business marketing from contractors to cut costs, and positioning a company to win contracts brought about by the federal stimulus package, according to a news release.

It is with a heavy heart that after failed attempts to sell the Flowering Tree in Montrose that I am looking at having to close after 23 years serving the community. Health and financial reasons have led to this decision. It is a sad commentary that the store will be added to a dying breed of Christian bookstores that have fallen to the Internet over the last few years. It seems the small business is a thing of the past. I have been touched by the outpouring of love and support I have received in light of this difficult decision.

Lina Sisto, born September 1, 1910, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2012, at the age of 101. Lina was born in Barletta, Italy, and studied to become a concert pianist in Genoa, Italy. In 1930, she married Antonio (Tony) Sisto in Pompeii, Italy, and immigrated to the United States. They settled in Chicago where Lina worked side by side with her husband to make their small business a success. In 1952, Lina, Tony, and their two daughters moved to their new home in Burbank, California.

I have to say that I am truly sad to read the Jan. 29 commentary by Barry McComb titled “It's important to save the Alex” - not only for myself, but for all the future generations. How can this happen? How can we allow this? My grandmother moved to Glendale in the late '40s to raise her four daughters. Almost 50 years ago one of her daughters had a child, Cynthia, at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. This child, me, grew up with Grandma Garnet enjoying the arts at the Alex Theatre.

There's a very nice, reasonably priced women's clothing store in Montrose called, appropriately, the Clothing Market. I have shopped there regularly since it opened a little over a year ago. I went again on Christmas Eve to take advantage of its 20% off sale, and thought briefly, “Oh my gosh! It's gone!” It took me a little while to realize that the store wasn't gone, only its bright banner with the store name was gone. I talked with the store owner and found that the city had made him take it down.

As shoppers were asked to support small businesses nationwide Saturday, local small-business owners said it takes a lot to be successful in a tough economy, including providing a unique shopping experience, selling products that can't be found anywhere else and looking for untapped revenue streams. Montrose Shopping Park draws shoppers with its small-town character and special events for the holidays, said Alyce Russell, president of the shopping park's merchants association and owner of Andersen's Pet Shop.

Two local businesswomen shared some of their secrets to success during a workshop in Glendale on Wednesday sponsored by the business nonprofit SCORE. Betty Porto, co-owner of Porto's Bakery and Café, and Lilly LaBonge, founder of Sweets for the Soul, told workshops participants that the most important requirement when starting a business is that you have a passion for what you're doing. Porto's mother started a baking business in the family's Cuban home in the 1960s after she lost a good-paying job when Fidel Castro's regime took over the country.

Unemployed workers and small-business owners struggling to stay afloat will get an opportunity to learn about government and community resources available to them at a small-business and career fair Thursday. The event, sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Glendale Pacific Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave. It will include workshops conducted by various government agencies including the Small Business Administration and Office of Personnel Management.

Along with family and administrators, Glendale Altrusans honored four accomplished eighth-grade students from Roosevelt, Rosemont, Toll and Wilson middle schools, for their exemplary community service. The are Melody Shahsavarani, Noemi Rodriguez, Amber Mateer and Janejila Snider. On hand to congratulate the students were School Board President, Joylene Wagner; member Mary Boger and Superintendant Richard Sheehan. In addition to a $200 cash award and plaque from Altrusa, each honoree received a certificate of merit from the offices of Assemblyman Mike Gatto, Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Sen. Carol Liu. The honorees had distinguished themselves with service projects that ranged from peer counseling to helping the homeless.